READING — The Select Board voted unanimously to appoint former Tewksbury town moderator Jayne Wellman as Reading’s next Town Manager, concluding an interview process that board members described as thoughtful, productive and encouraging for Reading’s future.
The 5–0 vote followed a round of comments from board members who reiterated the confidence they expressed during Wellman’s public interview the night before. Select Board member Melissa Murphy called the decision “a no-brainer,” while Karen Rose-Gillis and Carlo Bacci each noted that Wellman’s detailed answers had addressed many of their outstanding questions.
Chair Chris Haley added that he was optimistic about the direction the town could take under her leadership.
Wellman thanked the board for what she described as “excellent questions” during the interview and said she believed the public benefited from the 90-minute discussion. She expressed gratitude for the opportunity and said she looked forward to working with the board.
Immediately after the vote, the board entered executive session to begin contract negotiations with Wellman, a required step before she formally assumes the role.
Then serving as town hall’s second-in-command, the assistant town manager was named acting town manager earlier this month by the Select Board following the sudden resignation of Matthew Kraunelis, whose one-year contract was set to expire in the summer.
Like Wellman, Kraunelis was a town hall veteran who rose up the ranks to the assistant town manager’s role and was promoted after the departure of predecessor Fidel Maltez back in January of 2024.
Heading into his third round of contract talks with the Select Board earlier this winter, Kraunelis had asked the elected officials to extend his contract for a multiple year period. When that offer was apparently not extended, both sides reportedly agreed it best to part ways.
Kraunelis had been scheduled to earn roughly $214,000 this year. When Wellman took over temporarily for her former boss in early March, the Select Board agreed to hike her compensation rate temporarily to a rate equivalent to an annual salary of $184,550. Now that she is taking over the town hall leadership reins permanently, Wellman will likely be looking for a larger salary bump.
A Tufts University and UMass Lowell alumna, the new town manager was first hired in Reading back in 2016 as the community’s business administrator. She served in that position for seven years before being promoted to serve as Reading’s director of operations in 2023, when Kraunelis took over the assistant town manager’s position.
About a year later, when Maltez stepped down to accept a job as the City of Chelsea’s CEO, Wellman was again promoted to take over as assistant town manager while Kraunelis stepped into town hall’s corner office.
Wellman also previously served as Reading’s procurement manager for nine years between 2017 and 2026. Before starting her career in the public sector, she worked for more than a decade as a news reporter and editor for the Tewksbury and Wilmington Town Crier, which are sister papers of the Reading Chronicle.
A long-time Tewksbury resident, Wellman has been active in her hometown and previously served on Tewksbury’s Select Board, School Committee and as the community’s town moderator. Notably, back in January of 2025, Wellman stepped down from Tewksbury’s Select Board in order to focus on her growing number of work responsibilities in Reading.
A mother-of-two, Wellman also several years ago founded “100 People Who Care Tewksbury,” a non-profit organization that has raised more than $115,000 since its inception to benefit other area charities.